Every 4 years, the very best of the very best of the very best in the wide world of sports compete for the gold. Nearly every nation is represented in this titanic tournament. Last time I tackled the Olympics, I focused on the 100M Dash. I ‘m stretching my horizons into gymnastics with…

Olympic Special Vol. 2: Vera Caslavska and Agnes Keleti

VERA CASLAVSKA: 1960 – Rome, 1964 – Tokyo, 1968 – Mexico City

Vera in 1967.

Mid-way through World War II on May 3, 1942, Prague’s Caslavska family introduced a baby girl. They named her Vera. From an early age, it was clear that Vera was a natural athlete. Initially, she started in dance, followed by figure skating. At 15 however, she switched to gymnastics. Like with the previous 2 sports, she dominated. Part of this was her and part was her instructor, Eva Bosakova (1952 – Helsinki, 1956 – Melbourne, and 1960 – Rome). Bosakova was already a multiple medal holder in both the Olympics and World Championships.

After a year or so of training Vera competed alongside Bosakova in 1959 at the European Championship. She won her first (of many) gold medals in the balance beams but slipped up on the uneven bars leaving her in 8^th. The team won the silver medal. This success continued into the Olympics in Rome where she won the silver in the team category again. She continued to compete and exponentially became the top gymnast of her era. In the World and European Championships and the Olympics, she won numerous gold and silver medals. Things changed around the 1968 Olympics however.

January 5, 1968, Antonin Novotny was officially replaced by Alexander Dubcek as 1^st Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. Dubcek’s goal was to create, “Communism with a Human Face.” In turn, he introduced more Democratic leaning policies and expanding people’s freedoms like speech. The Soviets were not pleased so they invaded Czechoslovakia with 600,000 soldiers and help from other Warsaw Pact nations. Vera was in support of the new reforms and signed the protest manifesto, “Two Thousand Words,” by Ludvik Vaculik. All this happened a few months before the Mexico City Olympics that fall (seriously, the 1968 summer games were held in October that year).

Vera was in trouble so her fled to the mountains. Similarly to Rocky in Rocky IV, she trained using the natural world, but out of necessity not because of manliness. After 3 weeks, she got word that the Czech allowed her to participate in the Mexico City games again. It was during these games that she became the first and only Olympian to ever win a medal in every gymnastics event. In addition to this, she refused to observe the rising of the Czech and Soviet flags when she tied for the gold in the Floor Exercise with Larisa Petrik. Many took notice, including the Soviets.

Around this time, she married Josef Odlozil, a fellow Czech Olympian. Back home in Prague, things changed. The government was suspicious of Caslavska and barred her from federal jobs for her protests and politics.

She divorced Josef in 1987. 3 years later the Communists lost power and she finally publicly regarded as a hero of the people. Also wasn’t barred from federal jobs. They had several children. One of them, Martin, stabbed his father in a dance club in 1993. Josef died. Martin was sent to prison. Vera focused on keeping her family together after this tragic event. She still resides in Prague today and lives a private life.

AGNES KELTEI: 1948 – London, 1952 – Helsinki, 1956 – Melbourne

Hungry’s Agnes Keleti came from humble beginnings, she was born to a Jewish family on January 9, 1921. Like other future Olympians she was attracted to sports early on. A natural gymnast, she excelled at the VAC Jewish Sports Club quickly. Her father, Ferencs, wanted both his daughters involved in sports. He was a lifelong athlete. Her mother complimented their father’s push for athletics with academics. Thanks to her, Agnes was a great student, cellist, and singer.

At 16, she won her first national championship. By the end of her professional career, there were 9 more national championships. She was on her way to the Olympics but World War II broke out. Hunngry was left out of it for awhile until Germany invaded. Agnes managed to get papers under the guise of a Christian woman named Piroshka. She worked for a Nazi-sympathizing family as a maid for the rest of the war. Her father was taken to Auschwitz. Her mother and sister luckily escaped thanks to the Swedish diplomat, Raoul Wallenberg (he was responsible for saving thousands of Hungarian Jews). By the end of the war the only family left was her mother and sister.

Agnes doing a split at 91.

Reunited with her family, Agnes resumed where her career left off. She won more national titles over the next few years and nearly made it to the London Olympic. 2 days before they began, she injured herself but recovered in time to compete in European and World Championships. In the Helsinki games, she became the oldest female gymnast to win an Olympian medal at 31. She won 4 medals in total. That record was broken again at the Melbourne games with 6 more medals. At 35, she set the record (again) for oldest female gymnast to win an Olympic medal.

The Soviet Union invaded Hungry during the Melbourne games. Instead of return home, she and the other Hungarians remained down under. She received political asylum to reside in Israel, where she still lives. In 1959, she married Robert Biro, a fellow Hungarian Jew that escaped the Soviets. They have 2 sons, Rafael and Daniel. In Israel, she become a corner stone in the establishment of Israeli Gymnastics. She ended up teaching at Tel Aviv University for years.

Agnes is the second most accomplished Jewish Olympic athlete with 10 medals, right behind Mark Spitz’ 11.

Not only did these women set world records, they managed to thwart both Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union from destroying them mentally and physically. They are extraordinary women that need to be remembered and celebrated.

Sources

http://www.ighof.com/honorees/1998_Vera_Caslavska.php

https://www.olympic.org/vera-caslavska

http://brooklynquarterly.org/personal-protest-at-the-olympics/

http://thebiography.us/en/caslavska-vera

http://www.drmirkin.com/histories-and-mysteries/vera-caslavska-marriage-of-two-great-olympic-athletes.html

http://www.radio.cz/en/section/curraffrs/czechoslovak-sports-legend-vera-caslavska-celebrates-60th-birthday

http://web.archive.org/web/20040508164234/http://www.intlgymnast.com/events/2004/europeans/champions/caslavska.html

http://articles.latimes.com/1990-04-05/sports/sp-900_1_prague-spring

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/prague-spring-begins-in-czechoslovakia

http://www.dhr.history.vt.edu/modules/eu/mod05_1968/evidence_detail_13.html 2,000 Words

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dykBBhaoczg

http://www.lib.umich.edu/soviet-invasion-czechoslovakia/pg1.html

http://www.gymn.ca/gymnasticgreats/wag/keleti.htm

http://esra-magazine.com/blog/post/agnes-keleti

http://www.jewishpress.com/sections/jewess-press/impact-women-history/agnes-keleti-the-foundation-stone-of-gymnastics-in-israel/2012/07/22/

http://www.ighof.com/honorees/2002_Agnes_Keleti.php

http://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/keleti-agnes

http://www.jewishsports.net/BioPages/AgnesKeleti(Klein).htm

THE WALKER BROTHERS: 60 Years Before Jackie Robinson There Were The Walkers

Moses Fleetwood Walker (nicknamed Fleet) and Welday Wilburforce Walker are two of the first black professional baseball players in American history. Some of you reading this might be thinking, “The Walkers weren’t the first, you’re wrong. It was Jackie.” Those of you thinking that, aren’t completely wrong. The first black baseball player to play in the major leagues is not as clear as you’d think. The Walkers may or may not have been the first (depending on your criteria) but they are usually considered to be the first. There were other black players in the majors at the time including George Stovey, William Edward White, Bud Fowler, and Sol White.

William Edward White predates the Walkers by a few years though. William Edward White is recorded to have played only one game. It was on June 21, 1879. It was an athletic battle between the Providence Grays and the Cleveland Blues. White was a first baseman for Providence. Earlier that year, he was part of the Brown University championship baseball team.

White was born a slave in Georgia. His father was white and mother was mixed, black and white. She was a house slave and his father was her master. Will probably passed as white while in the North. On various censuses he was listed as black or white pending on the year and location. He was the first black player to a play in a major league game. Will does not appear to have played any more games besides this one. After this not much is known about him. Technically, he was first but only played one game Again, it depends on your criteria.

With that out of the way, the Walkers. Moses Fleetwood Walker was born October 7, 1856 in Mount Pleasant, Ohio. He was the 3^rd out of 6 or 7 children. Welday (Nicknamed Weldy) Wilburforce Walker was born July 27, 1860 in Steunbenville, Ohio. He was the 5^th or 6^th of 6 or 7 children. Not much is known about the family until 1870. Their father, Moses W. Walker was a doctor turned minister. He and Caroline O’Hara Walker had settled in Ohio as fugitive slaves along the Underground Railroad while on the way to Canada. They were both mixed race.

By the 1870s Baseball was sweeping the nation. Ohio was chock-full of Diamonds, bats and leather mitts. During this time the Walker children attended integrated schools. In 1877, their father became the pastor at Second Methodist Episcopal Church. Fleet and Weldy both graduated high school during these years.

At this point for the sake of clarity I’ll discuss the lives of Fleet and Weldy separately.

Weldy

He started attending Oberlin College in 1881, following his older brother Fleet. The sports department had no rules against blacks playing with whites. It was student ran as opposed to having the NCAA in place. Oberlin had integrated by this point. He played on the Oberlin Yeomans baseball team with Fleet for a season. After a momentous game against the University of Michigan in 1881. Fleet was recruited by U of Michigan and transferred there. Again, Weldy followed suit a few years later, by transferring to the Homeopathic Medical School at University of Michigan.

Just like Oberlin, seemingly no one cared they were black. Apparently the student body was surprised to learn their star players were black but that was the worst thing to him while there.  Weldy played together for a season there. Fleet left for the minor leagues but Weldy decided to stay. He continued his college career until spring 1884. He left school to play in the Majors with Fleet.

Weldy was a professional leftfielder for the Toledo Blue Stockings that summer. He made his major league debut July 15 versus the Philadelphia Athletics. He only played 3 or 4 more games that summer. His last major league game was August 6, 1884 against the Indianapolis Hoosiers. Both he and Fleet were kicked off the team at the end of the season, they never played in a game together with Toledo. Weldy did not follow brother again.

This marks the turning point for Weldy. He and a friend started a restaurant, the Delmonico Dining Rooms, in Mingo, Ohio. Much like his Major League baseball career it folded shortly after starting. After he sold the Dining Rooms, the Walker brothers managed the LaGrande Opera House in Cleveland, Ohio. This kept him afloat so he went back to baseball, it was the minors this time.

He played 3^rd baseman for the Excelsior Club in Cleveland briefly in 1886. This was followed by a brief stent in 1887 with the Ohio State League’s Akron Acorns. Later that year, moved to the Pittsburgh Keystones in the League of Colored Base Ball Players. That league folded after 2 weeks. He tried unsuccessfully again this and managed /played for the Keystone Base Ball Club of East Liverpool (still in Ohio, not that Liverpool) in 1888. By this point it was segregation was becoming more widespread in baseball. Weldy wasn’t having it.

He wrote an impassioned letter on racism within baseball to the Ohio State League but it led to nothing. His activist spirit never died and only grew as he got older. In 1886, he and a black friend walked into a ‘white’ roller rink to integrate it. They were refused service and sued. Weldy won that case.

Aside from baseball and owning several businesses throughout his life, he was very politically active. His primary focus was black issues. The color barrier went up officially in baseball after he and Fleet left sports. He was a strong supporter of the Back-to-Africa movement and worked as an agent for Liberian emigration. He strongly believed in racial separation and was also on the Executive Committee of the Negro Protective Party in Ohio.

He continued being active in the push for integration and black rights. Weldy made a living as a successful business owner by this point. In 1897, established a fish and oyster store. Shortly after this he started managing the Union Hotel until he died. Thomas, his nephew, helped him the entire time. During the Roaring 20’s he was a moderately successful bootlegger but was eventually caught and indicted.

On November 23, 1937 at 78, Weldy passed from influenza. He never married.

Moses aka ‘Fleet’

In 1877, a 20-year old Fleet started Preparatory Program at Oberlin College. A year later, he officially enrolled in the ‘classical and scientific course in the Department of Philosophy and Arts.’ His grades started great but once he joined the baseball team, they fell off. Initially, the only play was inter-play but they expanded to other schools shortly after. Fleet were the stars. His final game with Oberlin was against Michigan in 1881. The Oberlin Yeomans lost 9-2. U of Michigan offered him a spot on the team. Moses became the first Black athlete in University of Michigan’s history.

During the summer of 1881, he played semi-professional baseball for the White Sewing Machine Company of Cleveland. This led to the first of many instances that would follow Fleet during his athletic career. The day was August 21. The game was on the road in Louisville, KY. When Fleet took the diamond, things turned ugly. The audience wasn’t happy and the home team was furious. 2 of the Kentucky players, Fritz Pfeffer and Johnnie Reccius, refused to play with a black person on the field. Fleet played until the 2^nd inning and returned to the bullpen.

Baseball wasn’t the only reason, Fleet left Oberlin. While he was there, he met two women, Arabella Taylor and Ednah Mason. He was romantically involved with Arabella. She was pregnant around the time of the Michigan game. The Oberlin community wasn’t a great place for an unmarried pregnant woman. They packed up and moved to Michigan. In 1882, she had a daughter named Cleolinda. They had 2 more children, Thomas, in 1884, and George, in 1886.

Fleet played for the Wolverines for 2 years. In 1883, he left school to play in the minor league. He played catcher for the Toledo Blue Stockings. During his first year with the Blue Stockings he had a run in with Cap Anson. They met on the diamond on July 1883. Anson was a major player on and off the field. Everyone respected him and followed his lead. He was also a racist. He refused to play with Fleet on the field. Because of Anson he sat out for the game. A handful of years later, Anson (A Hall of Fame player) spearheaded the establishment of the color barrier in baseball. At this point, it was the Air Bud rule of, “There’s nothing in the rule book that says we can’t.” It just wasn’t a common practice at the time. There were several incidents like this during the season and his career.

A year later in 1884, they became a major league team. On May 1, 1884 against the Louisville Eclipse he played his first Major League game. Injury cut Fleet’s season shorter than expected. He did play 42 games and was cut from the team September 23, 1884. He became a Postman in the meantime.

Hope was not lost though, Fleet signed with the Western League’s Cleveland Team. He played all 18 games until that league folded. To support himself, he and Weldy ran the LaGrande Opera House together.

Over the next few years, he played on Newark Bears with George Stovey, and the Syracuse Stars. He was the last black player in the Minor Leagues or Major League in 1889. While with Newark, they played an exhibition game against Cap Anson…again. Stovey and Fleet sat the game out. His final day of his baseball career was August 23, 1889.

He held a variety of jobs after this. They include Postman (again), business owner, railroad clerk, author, and inventor. The family remained in Syracuse for a while. The 1890s were a rough time for Fleet. In 1891, Fleet was drinking at a bar when a group of white men were picked him as a target. They insulted him and things turned ugly. A brawl ended up breaking out. Fleet drew his knife and ended up stabbing one of the white men that caused the brawl. He died. In court, Fleet was surprisingly acquitted of murder by all-white jury.

The family stayed in Syracuse. Arabella died from cancer in 1895. A few years later married Ednah Mason, another Oberlin Alum. Both of his parents died by the end of decade. The finale to the 1890s was Fleet getting a felony charge for stealing mail. He spent a year in federal prison for a felony. After his release the family moved back to Steubenville.

He joined his brother in the fight for equality. They ran a newspaper that specialized in black issues, The Equator. He strongly backed the Back-To-Africa movement and racial separation. He helped run the Union Hotel too. Aside from politics, he ran another opera house. This one was in Cadiy, Ohio. In 1908, published a book titled, “Our Home Colony: A Treatise on the Past, Present, and Future of the Negro Race in America.” This was his dissatisfaction with the progress that was supposed to have happened by then. Fleet had 4 patents as well. 3 of them were improvements on film projectors and the other one was an improved explosive artillery shell.

He sold the Cadiy Opera House in 1920. Ednah died that year as well. He died from pneumonia May 11, 1924. His grave was left unmarked until 1991.

The Walker Brothers weren’t perfect. They played professional baseball but it wasn’t the right time. They weren’t just athletes. They were well spoken, educated, passionate, and strong people. The primary reason they’re overlooked is Jackie Robinson. He wasn’t the first but his story fits the mold of sports hero in a better, more complete way. Another reason is the Walkers’ politics. They strongly supported racial separation. The Civil Rights movement at that time is broken into 2 camps, Integration and Separation. The Integration side looks better in retrospect than the Separation side. This side may not resonate with people now as much as it does then. The Walkers’ Baseball is dead and mostly overlooked or ignored. Jackie’s Baseball is still very much alive. It’s a crime the Walker Brothers’ accomplishments and legacy are largely forgotten.

References:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/walkefl01.shtml

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/history/mlb_negro_leagues_profile.jsp?player=walker_fleetwood

http://web.archive.org/web/20001023031241/http://www.pub.umich.edu/daily/1999/apr/04-20-99/sports/sports9.html

http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/9fc5f867

http://www.blackpast.org/aah/walker-moses-fleetwood-1857-1924

http://www.miamisci.org/youth/unity/Unity1/Kareem/pages/FleetWood.html

http://coe.k-state.edu/annex/nlbemuseum/history/players/walker.html

http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/08893f9f

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1998-04-15/sports/9804150305_1_major-league-baseball-fleetwood-major-league-status

http://sabr.org/gamesproj/game/june-21-1879-cameo-william-edward-white

http://blackathlete.net/2008/06/cap-anson-and-the-color-line/

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/walkewe01.shtml

http://articles.philly.com/2007-04-12/sports/24993709_1_black-freemen-black-teams-andrew-rube-foster

http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=walker001wel

http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/8ff10f5c

http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/2f9d1227

National Hockey League:

2. Torey Krug, Boston Bruins 2012-Current

1. Tuukka Rask, Boston Bruins 2007-Current

National Football League:

8. Eben Britton, Jacksonville Jags 2009-2012, Chicago Bears 2013-Current

7. Brock Coyle, Seattle Seahawks 2014-Current

6. Jace Amaro, New York Jets 2014-Current

5. Theo Riddick, Detroit Lions 2013-Current

4. Cassius Vaughn, Denver Broncos 2010-2011, Indianapolis Colts 2012-2013, Detroit Lions 2013-Current

3. Sealver Siliga, Denver Broncos 2011-2013, Seattle Seahawks 2013, New England Patroits 2013-Current

2. Chance Warmack, Tennessee Titans 2013-Current

1. Alterraun Verner, Tennessee Titans 2010-2013, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 2014-Current

Major League Baseball:

9. Joba Chamberlain, New York Yankees 2007-2013, Detroit Tigers 2014-Current

8. Harlond Clift, St. Louis Browns 1934-1943, Washington Senators 1943-1945

7. Xander Bogaerts, Boston Red Sox 2013-Current

6. Ross Grimsley, Cincinnati Reds 1971-1973 Baltimore Orioles, 1974-1977, 1982, Montreal Expos 1978-1980, Cleveland Indians 1980

5. Caleb Thielbar, Minnesota Twins 2013-Current

4. Myril Hoag, New York Yankees 1931-1938, St. Louis Browns 1939-1941, Chicago White Sox 1941-1942, 1944, Cleveland Indians 1944-1945

3. Chesler Cuthbert, Kansas City Royals 2014-Current

2. Heath Hembree, San Francisco Giants 2013, Boston Red Sox 2014-Current

1. Elden Auker, Detroit Tigers 1933-1938, Boston Red Sox 1939, St. Louis Browns 1940-1942

National Basketball Association:

6. Langston Galloway, Westchester Knicks 2014-Current

5. Xavier Thames, Baloncesto Sevilla 2014-Current

4. Sidney Moncrief, Milwaukee Bucks 1979-1990, Atlanta Hawks 1990-1991

3. Jannero Pargo, Los Angeles Lakers 2002-2004, Chicago Bulls 2004-2006, New Orleans Hornets 2006-2008, and others

2. Artis Gilmore, Chicago Bulls 1976-1982, 1987, San Antonio Spurs 1982-1987, Boston Celtics 1988

1. Zan Tabak, Houston Rockets 1994-1995, Toronto Raptors 1995-1998, Boston Celtics 1998